Hailing from Lake Forest in California, Madrost are a four-piece of gnarly longhairs who make music to match. Their third album, The Essence Of Time Matches No Flesh, occupies the grey area between the deathy end of thrash metal and the thrashy end of death metal, and is worth your time if you like to spend your time on either. The near-constant aggression is balanced by melodic, progressive parts, present from the very first song. Tracks like ‘The Silence In Ruins’ pack some lovely little touches, demonstrating that there’s more to Madrost than breakneck riffs and the occasional blast beat.

Truth be told, I’ve never really made up my mind about Stone Sour. Corey Taylor’s voice puts me at ease with them immediately, but they belong to a world that typically doesn’t appeal. As such, I’d never committed either way before hitting play on their new album, Hydrograd. And I still can’t. The songwriting ability is obvious, the ear for a hook palpable. Where the album skirts close by the edges of metal, the songs are great. ‘Fabuless’ hits the spot. ‘Thank God It’s Over’ likewise. When all’s said and done, there are songs and riffs here of the highest order. It’s a decent enough album. Good luck finding 65 minutes to take it all in at once.

Yep, that’s an umlaut. Denver’s Weapönizer make a promise with that single ‘o’ that they’re going to be none-more-metal, and Lawless Age makes good on that promise. Opener ‘Malefactor’ and the second track, ‘Hellbound’, combine old-school thrash metal riffing with extreme flashes and a few drops of NWOBHM worship. Just as one starts to wonder if the flavour will wear off, ‘Vulture’ chucks in a chunkier intro. With those refreshers dotted around it, Lawless Age stays just fresh enough to remain interesting for its 27 minutes. The title track is the undisputed highlight; fans of Ryan Waste’s side projects, this one is for you.